Midshipmen..."these were the escapers"
On my way to work this morning I finally started reading Escape from the French. Captain Hewson's Narrative 1803 -1809, a contemporary account of a young midshipman's escape from the prison of Verdun and the infamous fortress of Bitche. The book has an excellent introduction from Antony Brett-James which includes the astonishing assertion that out of a hundred naval officers who made successful escapes, about 90% were midshipmen.
The Fortress of Bitche"In the war against Napoleon the older prisoners of war, especially those of senior rank who no longer had any orders to give, became passive. The comparative few who refused to give way, who resented confinement and alien orders, who longed to be out and about, chafing as they did at being captive while great deeds were being done in the world outside, these were the escapers. For them prison represented a challenge; they simply had to escape. Most of them were young, fit and resilient. Out of over a hundred naval officers who made successful escapes, about ninety percent were midshipmen. The more senior officers were on parole and refused to dishonour this by escaping. Moreover, they were likely, at least until 1806, to be exchanged, as happened in the case of Captains Brenton and Leveson-Gower. Junior officers on parole sought to have their parole rescinded by some misconduct so as to salve their consciences when about to escape. Prisoners held in Bitche under lock and key were not invited to give their parole, so they could not dishonour something which did not exist."
I suspect Sir Sidney Smith might disagree about the passivity of senior officers and their disinclination to escape! However if these rough figures are correct, and I have no reason to doubt them, it is remarkable when you consider the relative youth of these midshipmen. Maurice Hewson was only 17 when he was seized in Camaret Bay, off Brest, while carrying out orders from Collingwood to gather intelligence on an alleged counter-revolution in Paris. It took Hewson six years and several failed escape attempts to traverse Europe and reach Trieste where he was eventually able to rejoin a British ship in 1809. Once I've read Captain Hewson's Narrative I'll let you know what happened along the way.
Brett-James, A., (1981), Escape from the French. Captain Hewson's Narrative 1803 -1809, Hodder and Stoughton, Exeter.
The Fortress of Bitche"In the war against Napoleon the older prisoners of war, especially those of senior rank who no longer had any orders to give, became passive. The comparative few who refused to give way, who resented confinement and alien orders, who longed to be out and about, chafing as they did at being captive while great deeds were being done in the world outside, these were the escapers. For them prison represented a challenge; they simply had to escape. Most of them were young, fit and resilient. Out of over a hundred naval officers who made successful escapes, about ninety percent were midshipmen. The more senior officers were on parole and refused to dishonour this by escaping. Moreover, they were likely, at least until 1806, to be exchanged, as happened in the case of Captains Brenton and Leveson-Gower. Junior officers on parole sought to have their parole rescinded by some misconduct so as to salve their consciences when about to escape. Prisoners held in Bitche under lock and key were not invited to give their parole, so they could not dishonour something which did not exist."
I suspect Sir Sidney Smith might disagree about the passivity of senior officers and their disinclination to escape! However if these rough figures are correct, and I have no reason to doubt them, it is remarkable when you consider the relative youth of these midshipmen. Maurice Hewson was only 17 when he was seized in Camaret Bay, off Brest, while carrying out orders from Collingwood to gather intelligence on an alleged counter-revolution in Paris. It took Hewson six years and several failed escape attempts to traverse Europe and reach Trieste where he was eventually able to rejoin a British ship in 1809. Once I've read Captain Hewson's Narrative I'll let you know what happened along the way.
Brett-James, A., (1981), Escape from the French. Captain Hewson's Narrative 1803 -1809, Hodder and Stoughton, Exeter.